Ideology/Philosophy: Primarily ethnic
solidarity and control of drug trafficking.
Membership Characteristics: The EME is primarily comprised of Mexican-Americans.
A
member who was an exception to the Hispanic race and ethnicity was
Joe Morgan. Morgan was of Yugoslavian decent and in addition to his drug
connections for La Eme, due to the fact that he was Caucasian, he was
instrumental in aligning La Eme with the Aryan Brotherhood as allies.
Leadership/Organizational Structure: The structure of the EME
prison gang consists of a chain of command whereby instructions from generals are carried out by captains, lieutenants, and soldier. Ordinarily,
each prison has separate leadership. To a certain extent, EME members imitate the traditional Italian Mafia and have a structural framework which identifies them as a well organized, disciplined organization.
Geographic Locus: The EME has California origins, but also is active in the Federal prison system.
Associated Organizations: Arizona's Old Mexican Mafia; Aryan Brotherhood; Mexikanemi; New Mexico Syndicate; urban Latino street gangs.
Antagonistic Organizations: La Nuestra Familia; Northern Structure; Arizona's New Mexican Mafia; Black Guerilla Family; black street gangs.
Typical Identifiers: Many confuse the EME with the Mexikanemi from Texas; they are two distinct groups. Some believe that Mexikanemi share identical tattoos with the EME, but there are subtle differences which should be taken into account when attempting to associate membership with either EME or Mexikanemi through the use of tattoos.
Origin
and history: The Mexican Mafia
prison gang, also known as La Eme, was formed in the late 1950's in the California Department of Corrections. It originally was a street gang in urban Los Angles.
It is known for it's violent acts towards anyone who is perceived to have
crossed them.
